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HERTZ, HEINRICH RUDOLF: REMEMBERING HIS CONTRIBUTION

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (February 22, 1857 – January 1, 1894) was a German physicist who clarified and expanded the electromagnetic theory of light that had been put forth by Maxwell. He was the first to conclusively prove[1] the existence of electromagnetic waves by engineering instruments to transmit and receive radio pulses using experimental procedures that ruled out all other known wireless phenomena.continue..

His name also became the term used for radio and electrical frequencies: hertz (Hz), as in kilohertz (kHz) or megahertz (MHz). The hertz designation has been an official part of the international metric system since 1933. Before Hertz gained professorships in Karlsruhe and Bonn, he had studied under the famous scientist Hermann von Helmholtz in Bonn, and it was Helmholtz who encouraged Hertz to attempt to win the science prize that led to some of Hertz's most important discoveries. From 1885 to 1889 Hertz became the first person to broadcast and receive radio waves, and to establish the fact that light was a form of electromagnetic radiation. (The Italian Marconi didn't begin his own wireless experiments until 1894, based on the earlier work of Hertz, Maxwell, and others.) Hertz probably would have gone on to make many more scientific contributions, but he died quite young, less than a month before his 37th birthday. continue..

Hertz was born into a prosperous and cultured Hanseatic family. His father, Gustav F. Hertz, was a barrister and later a senator: His mother was the former Anna Elisabeth Pfefferkorn. He had three younger brothers and one younger sister. Hertz was Lutheran, although his father’s family was Jewish (Philipp Lenard, Hertz’s first and only assistant and afterward a fervent Nazi, conceded that one of Germany’s great men of science had “Jewish blood”). At age six Hertz entered the private school of Richard Lange, a taskmaster who had no patience with error. His mother watched closely over his lessons, determined that he should be—as he was—first in his class. continue..

The hertz (symbol Hz) is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon.[1] One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications. The name "hertz" comes from Heinrich Rudolf Hertz because he was the first to conclusively prove the existence of electromagnetic waves.continue..

A German-Jewish physicist whose laboratory experiments confirmed Maxwell's theory of electromagnetic waves and yielded useful information about their behaviour. Following on from Maxwells theory, Hertz devised a transmitting oscillator, from which electric waves were made to radiate. To detect them in the air he used a metal loop, which had a gap at one side. When the loop was brought within the influence of an electrical current set up by the oscillator, sparks could be seen to cross the gap. Hertz declared this proved that electric waves sent out into space could be detected. His name is now given to the unit of frequency (Hertz) and is abbreviated Hz. continue..